AASCIT Journal of Psychology
2015; 1(1): 1-4
Published online August 30, 2015 (http://www.aascit.org/journal/psychology)
Keywords
Self Confidence,
Psychological Training,
Combat Sports,
Physical and Mental Obstacles
Received: March 7, 2015
Revised: July 14, 2015
Accepted: July 15, 2015
A Comparative Study of Self
Confidence Among Boxers and
Wrestlers of Hyderabad in India
Rajesh Kumar
Board of Studies in Physical Education, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Email address
rajesh2sports@gmail.com
Citation
Rajesh Kumar. A Comparative Study of Self Confidence Among Boxers and Wrestlers of
Hyderabad in India. AASCIT Journal of Psychology. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2015, pp. 1-4.
Abstract
Boxing is a combat sport in which two people engage in a contest of strength, speed,
reflexes, endurance, and will by throwing punches with gloved hands against each other.
There are four basic punches in boxing: the jab, cross, hook and uppercut. Wrestling is a
form of combat sport involving grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws
and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical
competition, between two (occasionally more) competitors or sparring partners, who
attempt to gain and maintain a superior position. Self confidence in sports relies primarily
on the athletes ability to believe he can win and that can be successful in his efforts. The
Purpose of the study is to find out the self confidence among Boxers and Wrestlers of
Hyderabad in India. The sample for the present study consists of 50 Male Boxers and 50
Wrestlers of Hyderabad between the age group of 18- 20 Years. Dr. S. J. Quadri Self
Confidence Inventory is used to asses the Self Confidence. The Results of the Study shows
that Boxers are having more confidence than wrestlers. Boxing can improve your self
confidence not only in ring, but in other aspects of your life as well. It’s an extremely
challenging Sport that tests your limitations and to overcome physical and mental
obstacles. It is concluded that Boxers are having more self confidence than Wrestlers.
Hence it is recommended that Psychological Training must be included in the Coaching
Program in sports for development of Self Confidence among sports persons. Self
confidence is the main psychological variable for key to success in sports and games.
1. Introduction
Boxing or Pulgisim is a combat sport in which two people engage in a contest of
strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, and will by throwing punches with gloved hands
against each other. Amateur boxing is an Olympic and Commonwealth sport and is a
common fixture in most of the major international games—it also has its own World
Championships. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of one- to three-minute
intervals called rounds. The result is decided when an opponent is deemed incapable to
continue by a referee, is disqualified for breaking a rule, resigns by throwing in a towel, or
is pronounced the winner or loser based on the judges' scorecards at the end of the contest.
The origin of boxing may be its acceptance by the ancient Greeks as an Olympic game in
BCE 688. Boxing evolved from 16th- and 18th-century prizefights, largely in Great
Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid-19th century, again initially in
Great Britain and later in the United States.
1.1. Attacking Boxing Skills
Each boxer develops an attacking style, for example some boxers rely on speed and
2 Rajesh Kumar: A Comparative Study of Self Confidence Among Boxers and Wrestlers of Hyderabad in India
others on strength. One the basic stance second the straight
right punch third the uppercut. Four leftjab, and five is left
hook.
1.2. Defence Boxing Skills
Fig. 1. Boxers in action.
Fig. 2. Wrestlers in action.
In defence boxing a boxer use number of techniques to
avoid his opponents punches or make them ineffective, One
clinching, two ducking, third slipping, four parrying and the
five blocking
Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling type
techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns,
joint locks,pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is
a physical competition, between two (occasionally more)
competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and
maintain a superior position. There are a wide range of styles
with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern
styles.
Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into other
martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems.
The term wrestling is attested in late Old English, as
wræstlunge. Greco-Roman wrestling and modern freestyle
wrestling were soon regulated in formal competitions, in part
resulting from the rise of gymnasiums and athletic clubs.
A basic skill is a wrestling skill or technique that is
fundamental to wrestling and/or the basis for other moves.
Basic skills should be taught, learned and mastered prior to
more advanced moves. The success of other moves are
dependent on how well basic skills are executed. These skills
should be drilled and retaught on a regular basis.
The seven basic skills are:
1. Stance
2. Motion
3. Level change
4. Penetration
5. Back step
6. Back arch
7. Lift
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to
self-assurance in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc.
Self-confidence in sports relies primarily on the athlete's ability
to believe he can win and that he can be successful in his efforts.
Consultants at the United States Tennis Association report that
self-confidence is one of the most important attributes an athlete
can possess and should be fostered by both athletes and their
coaches. Confidence is a player’s belief in their ability to
perform well in any situation, practice or game. Confidence is
derived from a baseline assessment of past performances,
training, and preparation. As competency or skill mastery
grows, your confidence becomes proportionately stronger. In
order for players to develop high levels of confidence, they
must have a clear understanding of the factors that boost and
undermine their confidence, such as high expectations.
Self-belief has been directly connected to an individual's
social network, the activities they participate in, and what they
hear about themselves from others. Positive self-esteem has
been linked to factors such as psychological health, mattering
to others, and both body image and physical health. On the
contrary, low self-esteem in adolescents has been shown to be
an important predictor of unhealthy behaviors and
psychological problems such as suicidal ideation later in life
Self-confidence, the combination of self-efficacy and
self-esteem, is an essential part of humanity. Self-efficacy is
the internal sense, or belief that we can accomplish a variety of
tasks or goals throughout life. Self-esteem, is similar, but more
related to believing we are generally competent in what we do,
and that we deserve to be happy in life. Self confidence is
commonly defined as the sureness of felling that you are equal
to the task.
Confidence is a positive state of mind and a belief that you
can meet the challenge ahead - a feeling of being in control. It
is not the situation that directly affects confidence; thoughts,
assumptions and expectations can build or destroy confidence.
High self confidence Thoughts - positive thoughts of success
Feelings - excited, anticipation, calm, elation, prepared Focus
- on self, on the task Behavior - give maximum effort and
commitment, willing to take chances, positive reaction to set
backs, open to learning, take responsibility for outcomes Low
self confidence Thoughts - negative, defeat or failure, doubt
Feelings - tense, dread, fear not wanting to take part Focus -
on others, on less relevant factors (coach, umpire, conditions)
Behavior - lack of effort, likely to give up, unwilling to take
risks (rather play safe), blame others or conditions for
outcome
 AASCIT Journal of Psychology 2015; 1(1): 1-4
2. Review of Related Literature
Dr.Raj Kumar Sharma (2014) International Journal of
Health, Physical Education and computer science in sports has
studied the comparision the psychological characteristics of
male and female players of Chhattisgarh. A sample consisted
of thirty male and female Judo players of Chhattiisgarh, who
participated in State Judo championships held at Bhillai in the
year 2012-13. The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28
prepared and developed by Smith et al. 1995 was used to
measure the seven dimensions of psychological characteristics
i.e. Coping with adversity , Peaking under pressure, Goal
setting and mental Preparation, Concentration, Freedom from
worry, Confidence and achievement motivation, and
Coachability. To find out the significance of differences
between male and female Judo Players of Chhattisgarh, the
Means, Standard deviations and t –ratio were computed.
Results of the study indicated that the male Judo players had
better coping ability than female Judo Players. Female judo
players had better concentration ability than their counter parts.
Male and female Judo Players also expressed similar
psychological ability for the set of seven factors of
psychological characteristics.
Dr. Rita Karmakar (2014) International Journal of Health,
Physical Education and computer science in sports Vol.14 has
studied on the importance of triat anxiety among between
Individual and Team and athletes. Research has revealed that
the performance of sports person was much affected by
anxiety (Esfahani & Soflu, 2010). However, some researchers
have recognized adaptive perfectionism as a key characteristic
to achieve elite performance in sports (Gould, Dieffenbach, &
Moffett, 2002). The purpose of the present study was twofold
(i) to compare the trait anxiety and perfectionism between
individual (N=150) and team (N=150) athletes of Kolkata and
(ii) relationship between trait anxiety and perfectionism. Total
mean score for the athletes’ ages was 20.51 years, ranging
from 18 to 23 years (SD=2.85). To measure trait anxiety “The
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory” of Speilberger (1970) was
considered and for perfectionism “Sportmultidimensional
perfectionism scale” devised by Dunn, Causgrove Dunn &
Syrotuikm (2002) was used. The data was analyzed and
compared with the help of standard statistical procedures in
which mean, standard deviation, ‘t’ test and Pearson’s Product
moment Correlation of Coefficient were used. Result of the
study revealed no significant difference between individual
and team athletes in regard to trait anxiety and perceived
parental pressure. Significant difference was found between
individual and team athletes with respect to personal standards,
concern over mistakes and perceived coach pressure.
Significant negative correlation was found between setting
personal standard and trait anxiety for individual athletes.
Concern over mistakes, perceived parental pressure and
Table No.I. Self confidence inventory mean values of Boxers and Wrestlers.
Variables Group Number of subjects
Boxers 50
Self Confidence Inventory
Wrestlers 50
3
perceived coach pressure were positively and significantly
related with trait anxiety for both groups.
Howard Zhenhao Zeng (2003) designed to compare the
difference on the levels of self-confidence. State
sport-confidence and Trait sport-confidence for varsity
athletes between team sports (TS) and individual sports (IS).
College varsity athletes (N=69, TS=39,IS=30) aged 18 to 23
years were tested and analyzed during the study
self-confidence scores were obtained to compare the mean
differences in the levels of self-confidence of the participants.
According to the independent group t test, the means of state
self-confidence. State sport-confidence and Trait
sport-confidence scores for TS athletes were significantly
(p<.05) higher than the mean scores for IS athletes. In
conclusion, team sport athletes have higher levels of state
self-confidence, state sport-confidence and trait sport
confidence as compared to individual sports athletes when
they competed with their opponent (Howard and zeng 2003).
Eric Thomas (2012) studied anxiety and self-confidence in
relation to individual and team sports. Athletes, 49 men and 35
women, were divided by sport context and asked to complete
the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2). The
analysis showed individual sport athletes exhibit significantly
higher levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety and lower
levels of self-confidence than team sport athletes who report
less cognitive and somatic anxiety and more self-confidence.
These findings were consistent with the conclusions of
previous studies and support that sport context influences
athletes’ precompetitive cognitions (Eric. P. et al. 2012)
3. Methodology
The Purpose of the study is to find out the self confidence
among Boxers and Wrestlers of Hyderabad in IndiaThe
sample for the present study consists of 50 Male Boxers and
50 Male Wrestlers of Hyderabad between the age group of
18-20 Years. Dr. S.J.Quadri Self Confidence Inventory is used
to asses the Self Confidence. This scale was constructed and
standardize by Dr. Quadri Syed Javeed. That test consists of
30 items, each item 'YES' 'NO' type alternatives. This
Questionnaire were given Boxers and Wrestlers to write
separately in different groups.
4. Results and Discussion
The Results of the Study shows that Boxers are having more
confidence than wrestlers. . Boxing can improve your self
confidence not only in ring, but in other aspects of your life as
well. It’s an extremely challenging Sport that tests your
limitations and to overcome physical and mental obstacles
compare to the Wrestlers.
Mean Standard deviation Standard error
25.6 0.88 0.12
19.32 1.1 0.16
4 Rajesh Kumar: A Comparative Study of Self Confidence Among Boxers and Wrestlers of Hyderabad in India
In Table No.1 the Mean of Boxers is 25.6 and Wrestlers
19.32 there is a difference 6.28 between the Boxers and
Wrestlers. Boxers are having more confidence than the
wrestlers.
5. Conclusion
It is concluded that Boxers are having more self confidence
than Wrestlers. Hence it is recommended that Psychological
Training must be included in the Coaching Program in sports
for development of Self Confidence among sports persons.
Self confidence is the main psychological variable for key to
success in sports and games.
Self-confidence is the belief that you can successfully
perform a desired task/behaviour. Confident athletes believe
in themselves and their ability to acquire the necessary skills
and competencies (both physical and mental) to reach their
potential. Self-belief motivates all performance.
Recommendations
1. This type of Study is useful to the Coaches and Physical
Education Teachers to train the Students as per the
requirements of the Psychological variables for the
performance in sports.
2. Conducting a similar study, by adding other
psychological factors such as goal setting, Achievement
motivation, concentration and imagery.
3. Doing a similar study on Individual and Team Games.
4. Comparing anxiety and self confidence between elite and
non-elite athletes indifferent regions.
5. Conducting a similar study among female sports persons.
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